Heading into the 2000 season, only one receiver in NFL history had caught 1,000 career passes: Jerry Rice.

San Francisco's Hall of Fame wide receiver reached the 1,000 plateau in 1996 in his 12th NFL season. He took 1,206 career receptions into the 2000 decade and added 343 catches over his final six seasons to set the league record with 1,549.

Heading into the 2010 season, five other wide receivers have joined Rice in the 1,000 club – and the fraternity could conceivable grow by three members by 2011.

Atlanta's Tony Gonzalez takes 999 career receptions into the 2010 season and should become the first tight end in the 1,000 Club in the season opener against Pittsburgh.

New England's Randy Moss takes 926 receptions into 2010. He needs 74 more catches, which shouldn't be a problem. He caught 83 balls last season and still has Tom Brady throwing the passes.

Pittsburgh's Hines Ward takes 895 receptions into the 2010 season, leaving him 105 shy of the 1,000 club. He caught 95 passes last season and already has a 112-catch season to his credit in his 12-year career with the Steelers.

Farther back is Derrick Mason, who has 863 career catches. He'll probably need two more seasons to join Rice and his cronies at 1,000. Mason would need 69 catches per season, and that also shouldn't be a problem. In his last three years with the Baltimore Ravens, he has caught 103, 80 and 73 balls.

Andre Johnson, Larry Fitzgerald, Reggie Wayne and Anquan Boldin also are on pace for 1,000 career catches. The greater the fraternity of 1,000-catch receivers, the tougher it becomes to sort out the Hall of Famers. One thousand catches was once viewed as a ticket to Canton. Not anymore.

The Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings harbor Super Bowl aspirations. If either turns up in Arlington for the Super Bowl in February, it will be on merit. As members of the NFC North, the Packers and Vikings draw schedules this season that include four games apiece against the NFC East and the AFC East. That means games against the Cowboys, Giants, Eagles, Patriots and Jets – all of whom have their own Super Bowl aspirations. The Packers also face playoff aspirants Atlanta, Miami and San Francisco – plus that home-and-home with the Vikings. Minnesota also plays defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans plus the Dolphins. Surviving such a schedule would certainly qualify the Packers or the Vikings or both as playoff-ready come January.

Giving Kyle Orton a contract extension signaled to me an admission by the Denver Broncos that Tim Tebow needs more work to prepare for playing an NFL-style of game. I think when Josh McDaniels traded up in the first round to draft Tebow, the Denver coach could envision him as his starting quarterback at some point as a rookie. But Tebow learned in the preseason opener that he won't be able to scramble on NFL fields like he did on college turf. He's finding out that in the NFL, unlike college, all the defensive ends and linebackers are as big and as fast as he is. Subsequently, the hits are just too big for any quarterback to earn a living with his legs. Tebow is going to have to learn to depend on his arm more to make plays. So I expect the Broncos to stick with Orton through 2010, then go with Tebow in 2011.

Fantasy football alert: The stock of Arizona running backs Beanie Wells and Tim Hightower is rising.

With Matt Leinart or Derek Anderson taking over at quarterback, the Cardinals may have to become a rushing team overnight.

The Cincinnati Bengals have gone 19 seasons without winning a playoff game, the longest current drought in the NFL. Their last win came against the Houston Oilers in 1990. Since then, the Bengals have managed two winning seasons, both times capturing an AFC North title. But both times Cincinnati lost to open the playoffs, to Pittsburgh in 2005 and the New York Jets in 2009. Since winning their last playoff game, the Bengals have gone through seven starting quarterbacks and five head coaches.

Osi Umenyiora hasn't been the same Pro Bowl pass rusher since suffering a season-ending knee injury in training camp in 2008. He returned in 2009 but managed only seven sacks and lost his starting job by the end of the season. Former first-round draft pick Mathias Kiwanuka replaced him, and the two are battling for the starting weakside end spot in 2010. Giants coach Tom Coughlin isn't ready to declare either player the victor.

"They're both starters," Coughlin said. "They're both doing everything we ask them to do and they're making good progress, so those things will take care of themselves. They're two of our better football players. They've worked hard, they've competed and they've done it in the right way. You see them hit each other's hands when they sub in and out. It's very good for our team."

The Philadelphia Eagles haven't had a reliable inside running game since Duce Staley was battering away between the tackles in 2001 and 2002.

Brian Westbrook arrived to change the dynamic of the Philly ground game with his outside speed. Now that Westbrook is gone, scatback LeSean McCoy has moved in at halfback – but the Eagles also signed Mike Bell from the Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints in free agency to give the ground game some might. He goes 6-0, 225 pounds and gives the Eagles a back they can pound with in the fourth quarter when they are trying to salt away victories. "He's a very powerful, strong, physical runner," Eagles coach Andy Reid said. "He has good feet and vision and catches the ball well. Those are the things that fit this offense well. And in this day and age, you need two or three of those guys as you work through the year."

The Washington Redskins intend to hold quarterback Donovan McNabb out of the preseason finale. He suffered an ankle injury in the second preseason game and will miss the final 10 quarters of the preseason. But Redskins coach Mike Shanahan expects him to start the opener against the Cowboys. "He's gotten a few snaps in his career," Shanahan said, "so I think he can handle it."

Michael Crabtree held out of his rookie season in a contract dispute with the San Francisco 49ers that lasted into October. So he missed all of training camp and valuable practice time with QB Alex Smith. He played catch-up for the remainder of the 2009 season and still wound up with 48 receptions. Now the former Texas Tech All-American has spent an entire off-season and summer training camp working with Smith and the 49ers' offense. He was a pass target last season. San Francisco expects him to be a pass weapon this season. "We're doing more with him this year, moving him around," Smith said. "We're asking a little more of him."

Caleb Campbell is finally pursuing his dream this summer. Campbell played football at Army from 2005-08, and West Point implemented an "alternative service option" in 2008. That allowed its athletes to pursue professional careers and serve their two-year military obligations as recruiters. So the Lions drafted Campbell in the seventh round – but Army doubled back and would not let him out of his active military commitment. So Campbell served his two years and finally reported to the Lions this summer to compete for a roster spot. Campbell, of Perryton, Texas, was a four-year starter at Army at safety but is trying to stick with the Lions as a linebacker. "He's had his ups and downs like any rookie," Lions coach Jim Schwartz said. "You can make a highlight film of him that looks really good and a lowlight film of him that looks really bad. He's flashy; you can see his athletic ability on special teams. He just has to work on his consistency."

When Ryan Clady tore his patellar tendon in a pickup basketball game last April, it appeared the Denver Broncos would have to open the season without their Pro Bowl left tackle. But Clady returned to the practice field last week ahead of schedule. "Some of our guys who have never seen him play are excited," Broncos coach Josh McDaniels said. "The quarterback (Kyle Orton) is obviously excited. He's not quite ready to go out there and play 75 plays at this point. We're going to be smart and get him back to the point where we feel he can play at the highest level. That may not be for a few more weeks."